Germany's 2014 World Cup winner Schuerrle retires at 29

Bengaluru, July 17: Just six years after winning the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Germany's Andre Schuerrle has called it quits from international football at the age of 29.

Schuerrle's retirement comes just two days after his contract with Borussia Dortmund was terminated by mutual consent.

He had one year left on his deal at Dortmund but the Bundesliga giants announced his departure on Wednesday (July 15).

ℹ️ Borussia Dortmund und André Schürrle haben sich auf eine einvernehmliche Aufhebung des ursprünglich noch bis 2021 gültigen Vertrages verständigt.

Wir wünschen Dir alles Gute für die Zukunft, @Andre_Schuerrle! 🍀

— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) July 15, 2020

In a recent interview with German magazine Der Spiegel, Schuerrle opened up about the loneliness he suffered as a professional footballer in the last two seasons after he spent a year on loan at Spartak Moscow and another at Fulham.

"The decision matured in me for a long time," Schuerrle said.

"I don't need any more applause.

"You always have to play a certain role in order to survive in the business, otherwise you'll lose your job and you won't get a new one."

André Schürrle shared some of the reasons why he decided to call it quits at 29. pic.twitter.com/zgiWDUIiHa

— DW Sports (@dw_sports) July 17, 2020

Since making his debut for Mainz 05 in 2009, Schuerrle made over 370 club appearances and went on to play for Bayer Leverkusen, Chelsea and VfL Wolfsburg.

Schurrle joined Dortmund from Wolfsburg in 2016, but failed to shine for the club before going out on loans at Fulham and Spartak Moscow.

He scored only once in the Russian League and missed all of Spartak's games in early 2020 with an ankle injury. Schuerrle did not return for Spartak when the league resumed last month despite the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

He was capped 57 times by Germany and scored 22 goals.

(With inputs from Agencies)